Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-03-19
FATAL FLAMES.
BURNING OF A NEW HOTEL IN Bur.
FALo.
Numter Of Persons Perish in the
Flames Many Lost-Exeiting
Scenes.
nv ,oinrrnnh % ,he pI.pa,sh.l

MAS discovered a $3.50 O'Clock this
morning in the new Richmond Hotel.
The alarm was sounded and the Are
mon responded promptly. The house
contained large number Of guests,
and their learrending shrieks could
Mainly be heard. Ladders were raised,
and rs many as possible saved. A large
,.,,r,l,cr Of guests wore unable TO effect
Ucir escape. SO o'clock the entire
T;cbmond noto'. St James Hall, and
o,b,r property in the block were doom
,Jto specdy destruction. The whole
,Jocc iurncd hike tinder-oox.
no corridor in the centre OF the
lnllne acted rs great funnel. and as
u'o DANES sireamed upward the guests
III themselves imprisoned 10y a wall
~ &C. The screams of the guests
)" be heard for blocks. At many
os,I,o windows could be seen fright
oncd cncsts in their night-clothes call
;rg wildly for help. at the third-foor
windows two guests were seen 10y the
crowd 10 fall back into the flames.
One man Jumped from the fifth floor
~ ihe roof Of two-story wooden build
ing adjoining. He was seriously in
jurcd
The number of persons injured is not
eyacilv known. Hon. NJ. w. Barse. of
Dian, was terribly burned about the
hands and wrists. A number of insu-
rance-mcn were in the building and sew
cral we're badly injured. Among them
are w. j. Mckay, of Niagara Falls; G.
W. Dubois, of Syracuse; W. 5. Dewey,
of Rochester. who escaped with bad
burns; Clinton Bidwell, of Pittsburgh,
badly burned.
At the Emergency Hospital are
Charles Davis, Of New York, hands and
feet badly burned II. b. Smith, of the
North British Insurance Company, of
New York, hands and feet burned
Edward Whelan, of New York, hands
in terrible condition. They are pro-
lably not fatally injured.
The Fitch Hospital contains about
eight men and one woman. All are in
pretty bad condition and more or less
seriously injured. All are from out of
town except the woman. Two injured
persons are at the Sisters Hospital
and four are at the general hospital.
The building was situated at the corner
of Main and Eagle streets, extending
through to Washington street.
II n believed that at least twelve per
sons were burned to death. Many are
badly burned and injured.
Mr.. Whitaker reports that large
amount of diamonds were in the hotel
last night. T.. Il. Robertson, of Lam
bert q Co., had a stock valued at $780,
600 deposited in the safe. Mr.. Adler had
in his room 5000 worth, and MIR.
Smith had another considerable stock,
but the amount is not known.
The hotel building and the st. James
Hall were insured for $4,000, which
covers the loss of the Library Associa-
ton Stafford & Co.'S loss is S75, 900,
and their insurance S35,500. Fuller &
Townsend, proprietors of the Boston
clothing store, estimate their loss at
$4,000; covered by insurance. Peter
Paul & Brothers lose $50, 900; insured.
The loss of Ulbrich & Kingsley is 49,,
600; covered by insurance. Minor
losses are estimated at $4,000.
II is impossible TO say just how many
persons were killed and injured, but
the number is large. Twelve are be-
lieved to have lost their lives. The
rapidity of the fire cutting off the means
of escape led some persons to leap for
life from the windows. Others got
down the fire-escapes or on ladders
raised by the fire department. The
shrieks and cries of the poor people
in the upper stories of the burning
structure were heartrending. One man,
mad with terror, leaped from the third
story window and was picked up from
the stone sidewalk on Main street a
mangled corpse. Several who sue
ceeded in making their escape were
badly injured and burned, and some OF
these will probably die. Others more
fortunate escaped with slight injuries.
There were one hundred and twenty
five persons in the hotel, seventy of
whom were transient guests, eight
boarders, and the remainder porters,
bcll-boys, families of the proprietors,
and clerks. Twenty-Five of these were
rescued from the windows by the fire
men. and a large number made their
escape by other means. The origin OF
the fire Is not yet known.
William II. Airport, night-clerk, says:
The fire started in the clOak-rOom,.
under the main stairway, at 800 o'clock.
There was nobody up but myself, Joe
)the night porter, and Plummer (the
beN.boy). pulled all four of the fire
alarms ON the different floors, and the
people came flying down stairs in their
The fire followed the
stairways and elevator, and inside OF
five minutes reached the top floor. l
rushed out of doors after doing all
could"
The spread of the flames is said to
have been frightful in its rapidity. The
elevator shaft served as tlue for the
flames, and they rushed up it to the top
floor in very few minutes. As the
guests were reused and saw the interior
exits cut OFF they turned to the windows.
They could be seen in their night
clothes standing out clear and vivid be-
fore the lurid background OF flames;
Their screams were horrible to hear, and
they could be heard for blocks. The
flames spread to the southeast side OF
the hotel first. The firemen did noble
work, and confined the fire to the mar
row limits of the three buildings named.
Their work of rescue had many exciting
incidents. The telegraph wires were,
as usual. in the way of the ladder bri-
cade and much valuable time was lost
IN getting ladders past them.
Among the guests in the hotel were
about twenty insurance agents, VINO
had come on to adjust the losses OF the
great fire at Miller, Greiner a Go. ana
the Courier Office of Tuesday. Per-
hans the most thrilling escape OF any
was of Pres. Whitaker, stepson OF
Proprietor Stafford. He roomed IN the
fftL story, and when aroused stepped
to the window and looked down Tor a
few seconds. Then he deliberately
dressed himself, and, emerging IRON
the window, stood on the stone,capping
above the window beneath. From TINS
camping he stepped to the next one
along the front of the building, ana
proceeded in this manner to the Hayes %
II 10